Method and apparatus for inspecting a bottle

ABSTRACT

To detect foreign matter on the surface of a bottle, an instrument incorporating an optical fiber bundle is inserted into the bottle with incident light directed to the inlet end of the fiber bundle. Within the instrument, the optical fiber bundle is divided at its outlet end to provide separate optical signals which are converted into electrical signals for indicating the presence of foreign matter.

SEARCH ROOM [111 3,739,184 June 12, 1973 XR 3 9 739 a 1.84-

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ignals which are converted into ign ABSTRACT To detect foreign matter onthe surface of a bottle, an

d into the bottle with incident light directed to the inlet end of thefiber bundle. Within the instrument optical fiber bundle is divided atits outlet end to vide separate optical 5 el 12 Claims, 14 DrawingFigures Primary Examiner-James W. Lawrence Assistant Examiner-D. C.Nelms Attorney -John J. McGlew and Alfred E. Page instrumentincorporating an optical fiber bundle is inserte ectrical signals forindicating the presence of fore matter.

[22] Filed: June 11, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 152,081

Related US. Application Data [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No.826,472, May 21,

1969, abandoned.

[52] US. 250/223 B, 250/227, 356/240 [51] lnt. H0lj 39/12 [58] Field ofSearch................. 250/219 DE, 223 B,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,292,785 12/1966Calhoun..............................

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Patented June 12, 1973 4 Sheets-Shoot l I00 IOb FIG. 5

INVENTORS. Y

TAKUMA KATSUNATA HIDEO UCHIYAMA YOSHIHARU NARITA by MZM ATTORNEYS.

Patented June 12, 197 3,739,184

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INVE/VTQRSJ TAKuMA KATSUMATA HIDEO UCHWAMA YOSHIHAFQU NAWTA ATTORNEYS.

Patented June 12, 1973 4 Shoots-Shoot 4 INVENTORS BY XWH/HARI/ AME/Z4CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is acontinuation-in-part of U.S. ap-

' plication Ser. No. 826,472, filed May 21, 1969, for

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR INSPECTING A BOTTLE, now abandoned.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a methodof and apparatus for automatically detecting foreign matter deposited onthe inner or outer surfaces of a bottle, such as a bottle used forliquors, soft drinks, milk, and the like, and, more particularly, it isconcerned with the division of light signals for conversion intoindividual electrical signals for determining the presence of theforeign matter.

In the past, there has been proposed a method for inspecting bottleswhich employed an inside inspectoscope within the bottle and a diffusedlight directed into the bottle from the outside. However, in order toturn a reticule for detecting foreign matter, the method required meansfor raising or lowering the bottle as it is rotated while theinspectoscope is fixed in position. Furthermore, since the insideinspectoscope guided light along a considerable distance by means of alens, the F-member of the lens (the ratio of focal length to an incidentaperture) was limited to a large value so that the quantity of lightobtainable was small. Moreover, since the inspecting field of the insideinspectoscope was large, there was a limit to the size of the foreignmatter which could be detected. Further, as the electric circuitry fordetecting the foreign matter employed a frequency modulation system, inorder to enhance the signal to noise ratio, there was the disadvantagethat not only was the adjustment of the circuitry difficult, but alsothe loss in the quantity of light in the inspectoscope was large.

Therefore, a primary object of the present invention is to provide amethod of and apparatus for inspecting a bottle in which thedisadvantages of the prior art are overcome and an effective means fordividing light signals into individual electrical signals is affordedfor determining the presence of foreign matter or substances on thesurface of the bottle.

Another object of the invention is to employ an ticaLfiber bundle whichis divisible into separate channels aFitsb'fitlET end for subsequentconversion of the light signals into electrical signals.

Therefore, in accordance with the present invention, A

as the bottle is rotated, means for detecting foreign substances can beraised or lowered and thereby afford a I continuous automatic detectingarrangement. In the method of inspecting the bottle, incident light,which may be diffused light directed inwardly through the bottle sidewall, as in the mentioned prior art method, is supplied to the inlet endof an inside inspectoscope which employs 31L pli t :,a \l t 'i be bundlef t its outlet e'nd the optical fiber bundle is divided hito separatechannels to afford individual optical or light signals, and theseindividual signals are then converted into electrical signals. Byamplifying and processing the individual electrical signals by means ofelectrical circuitry containing an integrator, which circuitry can beincorporated into the inspectoscope, the presence of various sizes offoreign matter can be established. Moreover,

since an optical fiber bundle is used in the inspectoscope, a largevalue of the F-number for the lens can be used to supply a largequantity of light. Furthermore, since the optical fiber bundle isdivided at its outlet end, it subdivides the area of the inspectingfield and, in each of the subdivided areas, the change in quantity oflight due to foreign matter can be determined as a higher ratio ofchange.

Another advantage obtained by subdividing the inspecting field is thatsmaller areas or spots of foreign substances can be detected. Because ofthe division of the inspecting field, the signal to noise ratio islarge, and the signal processing circuit can be simplified. Since theoptical fiber bundle and the electric circuitry are combined within asingle instrument which can be raised and lowered within the bottle,external noise is prevented from mixing into the detecting signals, and,further, by employing an integrator circuit in the output from aphotoelectric transducer element, an improved signal to noise ratio isachieved in this novel method of inspecting a bottle.

For an understanding of the principles of the invention, reference ismade to the following description of a typical embodiment thereof asillustrated in the accompanying drawings. I

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal view, partly in section, of a bottle inspectinginstrument embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a transverse view taken along the line IIII of FIG. 1 in thedirection as indicated by the arrows;

FIG. 3 is a transverse view, partly in section, taken along the lineIII-III in FIG. 1 in the direction as indicated by the arrows;

FIG. 4 is a transverse view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken along line V-V in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the electrical circuitry incorporated intothe inspecting instrument illustrated in FIGS. ll through 5;

FIG. 7 is a detailed circuit diagram of an integrator circuit employedin the circuitry set forth in FIG. 6;

FIGS. 8 and 9 show input and output wave forms, respectively, of thecircuit displayed in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a partial side view of the instrument illustrated above withthe electrical circuitry incorporated within its housing;

FIG. 11 is a partial longitudinal view, of the inspecting instrumentpositioned within a bottle;

FIG. 12 is a view of the inspecting field of the instrument illustratedin FIG. 11 indicating the manner in which the inspecting field isdivided by means of an optical fiber bundle;

FIG. 13 is a somewhat schematic elevation view illustrating the meansfor directing light through the bottle; and

FIG. 14 is a somewhat schematic plan view corresponding to FIG. 13.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In FIGS. 1 to 5, abottle inspecting instrument or inside inspectoscope is formed of ahousing comprised of adapter sections 1 and 2 located at the upper endof a longitudinally extending tubular member 3. The adapter member 1fits over the upper end of the tubular member 3 and is secured to it bymeans of screws.

Extending axially through the tubular member 3 is an optical fiberbundle 4. Mounted on the lower end of the tubular member 3 is a sleeve 5which extends below the lower or inlet end of the optical fiber bundleand holds an objective lens 6. Below the objective lens the sleeve 5 isopen along one side and supports a reflecting mirror 7 positioned at anangle of 45 with a normal to the lens 6. The mirror 7 is adapted toproduce an image of the side surface of a bottle being inspected.

Within the body of the tubular member 3 the member 2' serves as a holderfor the optical fiber bundle 4. At the upper end of the tubular memberthe optical fiber bundle enters into the adapter section 1 and isdivided into three separate spaced sections 4a, 4b, 4c, with the ends ofthese sections being secured within terminals 2a, 2b and 20,respectively, within an adapter section 2 mounted on the upper surfaceof the adapter section 1.

A transparent glass plate 8 is mounted on the upper surface of theadapter section 2 and extends across the outlet ends of the threesections 4a, 4b, 4c, of the optical fiber bundle. Positioned on theupper face of the transparent glass plate and aligned above the outletends of the optical fiber bundle are three photoelectric transducerelements 10a, 10b and 10c. The transducer elements are insulated fromone another by means of an insulating body 9 are positioned within arecess in the lower face of an upper adapter section 11 which is mountedon top of the adapter section 2. Lead wires 12a, 12b and 120 areconnected to the transducer elements 10a, 10b, 10c, respectively, andextend upwardly from the adapter section 11.

Referring, for the moment, to FIGS. 13 and 14, a light source,comprising a lamp 40 with an associated reflector 41, directs lightthrough an opaque glass plate 42 through the side wall of a bottle 35,and an opaque glass reflector plate 43 is positioned on the oppositeside of bottle 35. The bottle to be inspected is supported on arotatable table 44, and the inside inspectoscope is positioned withinthe bottle and is movable vertically by a suitable means, such as 45, asindicated by the double-ended arrow.

The block diagram shown in FIG. 6 illustrates the electrical circuitryfor processing the electric signals from the photoelectric transducerelements 10a, 10b and 10c. These signals are furnished to a logical ORcircuit 23 after passing serially through the respective amplifiers a,20b and 200, integrators 21a, 21b and 210 and shaping circuits 22a, 22band 22c. In addition, a part of the output from the transducer element10a, is supplied to the logical OR circuit 23 through a branch circuitcontaining a DC amplifier 24. The output from the logical OR circuit 23is applied to a logical AND circuit 26 and the output ofa triggercircuit 25, for defining the inspecting positions on the bottle, is alsosupplied to the logical AND circuit 26. From AND circuit 26, the outputis supplied to a memory circuit 27 which also is connected to a resetpulse generator 28 for resetting the memory circuit.

Each of the integrators 21a, 21b and 210, indicated in FIG. 6, has theinternal circuitry illustrated in FIG. 7. The collectors of two silicontransistors T, and T are connected through respective resistors R, and Rto the positive terminal of a source of potential, and the respectiveemitters of the two transistors are connected, through respectiveresistors R and R,, to the zero volt terminal of the source ofpotential. Thus, transistors T, and T operate as emitter-followers, sothat resistors R, and R are sufficiently small with respect to resistorsR and R,. A silicon diode D, is connected between the emitter oftransistor T, and the base of transistor T and serves to prevent currentfrom flowing through resistor R when a capacitor C, has been charged. Asecond capacitor C is connected to the emitter of transistor T and alsoto a respective shaping circuit 22a, 22b and 220.

Each of the integrators 21a, 21b and 210, indicated in FIG. 6, isconstructed as shown in FIG. 7. In the integrators, the collectors oftwo silicon transistors T, and T are connected to resistors R,, R and Rand R,, respectively, so that the silicon transistors T, and T operateas emitter-followers. Therefore, the resistors R,, R are sufficientlysmall with respect to the resistors R R,. A silicon diode D, isconnected between the emitter of the silicon transistor T, and the baseof the silicon transistor T and diode D, serves to prevent a currentfrom flowing through the resistor R when a capacitor C, connected to ithas been charged. A second capacitor C is connected to the emitter ofthe silicon transistor T In FIG. 10, the instrument incorporating theinside inspectoscope and the electrical circuitry is indicated. Theinside inspectoscope 31 has the adapter sections at its upper end, asindicated at 32, and 33 indicates the housing for the electric circuit.At the side of the housing, a cable 34 is shown for connection to asource of potential. In FIG. 11, the inspectoscope 31 is shownpositioned within a bottle 35 and is arranged to inspect the sidesurfaces of the bottle with the inspecting field 36, indicated in FIG.12, being reflected by means of the mirror 7 upwardly to the lower orinlet end of the optical fiber bundle.

In operation, the side surface of the bottle being in spected is imagedby the reflecting mirror 7 which is arranged at an angle of 45 withrespect to a normal to an objective lens 6. Since the objective lens 6focuses the image on the bottom or inlet end of the optical fiberbundle, the area of the side surface of the bottle within the inspectingfield is defined by the inlet end of the fiber bundle. The image isdivided into three sections by the division of the optical fiber bundleand is led, without optical interference between the individualsections, to the outlet ends 4a, 4b, 4c of the bundle. In other words,any change in the quantity of light supplied to the inlet ends of theoptical fiber bundle by the mirror appears as a difference in thequantity of light at the upper or outlet ends 4a, 4b, 40. Accordingly,any change in the quantity of light within the inspecting field willappear at the outlet ends of the optical fiber bundle.

The varying quantities of light which appear at each of the outlet ends4a, 4b and 4c of the optical fiber bundle are transmitted through theglass 8 to the oppositely disposed photoelectric transducer elements10a, 10b and 10c. Accordingly, the light signals transmitted by theoptical fiber bundle to the outlet ends are converted by the transducerelements into electrical signals which are then processed by theelectrical circuitry shown in FIG. 6. Specifically, the signals receivedfrom the three sections of the optical fiber bundle are supplied to theOR circuit 23 through the amplifier circuits a, 20b and 200, theintegrator circuits 21a, 21b and 21c and the wave form shaping circuits22a, 22b and 220, respectively, and the output from the OR circuit 23 isgated in the AND circuit 26 together with a signal from the triggercircuit and then delivered into the memory circuit 27 for storage.

In this arrangement, the signals from the trigger circuit 25 serve todefine the inspecting positions on the bottle 35, and they are generatedfrom the commencement to the termination of the inspection operation. Atthe instant a signal is transmitted to a reject circuit which ispreliminarily connected to the memory circuit, the pulse generatingcircuit 28 is operated to provide a reset pulse for clearing the memorycircuit 27.

The DC. amplifier circuit 24 is arranged to operate when thephotoelectric transducer element 100 is kept in a dark state regardlessof the inspecting position on the bottle 35. In other words, thiscircuit operates when there is no change in quantity of the light sensedby the optical fiber bundle because the entire side surface of thebottle is coated with foreign matter, such as cement.

In FIG. 7, assuming that a signal is fed to the base of transistor T,from amplifier circuit 20a and a current flows through its collector,this current flows through the resistor R and the diode D,. However, theratio between the currents flowing through the diode D, and the resistorR respectively, is low due to the fact that the resistance of the diodeD, is sufficiently smaller than the resistance of the resistor R andthus most of the collector current flows through the diode D, to chargethe capacitor C The electrical charge stored in the capacitor C, isdischarged through the resistor R,, but the discharge period isrelatively long as the resistance of the resistor R, is high. Therefore,on the wave form the charge period is very short, while the dischargeperiod is long. Then, the charged capacitor C applies a voltage acrossthe base of transistor T and ground to operate transistor T The currentflowing through the resistor R, induces a voltage across the resistorR,, and this voltage is supplied to a wave form shaping circuit 22a, inthe next step of the electrical circuitry.

In FIG. 8, which shows the input wave forms of the integrator circuits21a, 21b and 210, the signaland noise appear in different ways from thebottle being inspected, It can be noted in FIG. 8, that the signal S, islarger than the noise N,, and the signal S, is larger than the noise NHowever, since the peak of the signal S is lower than the peak of thenoise N,, when the wave form is sliced at a similar level the peak S,may be transmitted as a signal but the peak 5, cannot be transmittedbecause it is lower than the peak of the noise N,. Such a wave form issubjected to a linear variation in some cases, and in other cases it issubjected to a variation due to the shape of the bottle being inspected.In other words, even if the signal to noise ratio is sufficiently highat each point, it may be possible that the same foreign material can orcannot be detected depending on the position of the deposit over theentire surface of the bottle. Accordingly, it is necessary only toconnect the integrator circuit 21a, 21b, 21c in order to eliminate thisadverse effect.

FIG. 9 illustrates the signal emanating from the output of theintegrator circuits 21a, 21b and 210. When the wave form of FIG. 8 hasbeen integrated, the wave form for N, and N is smoothed out to a largeextent,

and the wave form for S, and S is also smoothed out, but the peaks forS, and S remain, with small amplitudes. The amplitudes of these peaksare varied in accordance with the capacity of the capacitor C,. As thewave form is an A.C. wave form, if the frequency of the noise signal andthe frequency of the signals due to foreign matter are compared witheach other, the frequency of the signal clue to foreign matter is farhigher than that of the noise signal, which latter comprisessubstantially a DC component. Thereby, the wave form shown in FIG. 9 isobtained at the output of capacitor C and contains only the passedpeaks, with the DC. component being cut out by the capacitor CThereafter, only these peaks are amplified, and the S/N ratio iscorrespondingly improved.

In FIG. 10, the inspectoscope 31 and the electrical circuitry 33 aredisposed within the same casing and can be raised and lowered as a unit.The flexibility of the cable 34 implements the vertical movement of theinspecting instrument.

In FIGS. 11 and 12, the relationship between the inspecting field 36 ofthe surface of the bottle and the inlet or lower end of the opticalfiber bundle 4 is indicated. During the inspecting process, the bottle35 is rotated while the inspectoscope 31 is raised or lowered to scanthe side surface of the bottle in a spiral manner. Since the entireinspecting field is not reduced in the vertical direction, there is noneed to increase the rotational speed of the bottle with respect to thespeed of the vertical movement. In other words, not all of theinspecting field is seen by the optical fiber bundle, but instead theoptical fiber bundle 4 conveys the change and quantity of light for theimage focused on the slit-like surface, Therefore, the size of theinspecting field is determined by the size of the divided sections ofthe optical fiber bundle 4. When it is desired to detect even a smallarea of foreign matter, it can be accomplished by increasing the numberof divided sections within a given inspecting field. For instance, ifthe area of the foreign matter is the same as that of one of the dividedsections of the optical fiber bundle, the quantity of light through thatone section can vary very widely. However, it is to be noted that thearea of the foreign matter and the area of the end of the optical fiberbundle are related by a factor because the objective lens is positionedbetween them.

Since an optical fiber bundle is used in the barrel of the inspectoscopeinstead of a lens, the loss in quantity of light may besupressed byabout 50 percent, and further, by dividing the optical fiber bundle, alarge change in quantity of light may be obtained for various sizes offoreign matter appearing on the side surfaces of the bottle, and suchforeign matter can be detected by means of a very simple electricalcircuit.

Moreover, where the signal is caused by a foreign substance ofconsiderable size, the image is focused on the end surfaces of theseparate optical fiber bundle sections so that the respective transducerelements operate simultaneously and thereby result in an increase in anumber of signals so that erroneous operation is avoided.

By employing the integrator circuit, the noise signal and the foreignmatter signal may be distinguished because the signal emanating from theforeign matter is generated only once during each revolution of thebottle corresponding to only one occurrence of the bright and darkportions, respectively, whereas where a noise signal is involved, forinstance, signals caused by characters printed on the bottle or by theuneven surface configuration of the bottle, they would occur at leastseveral times during each revolution of the bottle and thus would bereceived successively so that they are charged in the capacitor C shownin FIG. 7, and do not appear as an output. As a consequence, only thetrue signal of the foreign matter is transmitted by the instrument.

Concerning the mechanism of the inspecting apparatus it is very simplein structure with only the bottle being rotated while the inspectoscopeis raised or lowered. Furthermore, since the inspectoscope and theelectrical circuitry are integrated within the same casing, theapparatus has no lead wire and is hardly subjected to any externalinduction noises.

As described above, based on the present invention, a large value of theF-number of the lens is employed so that a large quantity ofincident-light can be received by the inspectoscope. By dividing theoptical fiber bundle at its outlet end it is possible to deriveindividual signals which are converted into electrical signals and byamplifying and processing the signal separately in an electrical circuitthe bottle can be effectively inspected. Moreover, since the opticalfiber bundle can be divided at its outlet ends to reduce the area of theindividual inspecting fields, the change in quantity of light caused byforeign matter can be detected as a higher ratio change and even smallquantities of foreign substances can be detected. Further, based on theuse of the integrator circuit, the signal to noise ratio is improved,and a particularly advantageous method of inspecting a bottle isachieved.

While a specific embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed in detail to illustrate the application of the principles ofthe invention, it will be understood that the invention may be embodiedotherwise without departing from such principles.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for inspecting a bottle for detecting foreign matterdeposited on its surfaces comprising, in combination, a longitudinallyextending housing ar ranged to be inserted into a bottle to beinspected, a longitudinally extending optical fiber bundle disposedwithin said housing and having a plurality of separate laterally spacedoutlet ends, whereby said optical fiber bundle defines a correspondingplurality of optically separate light transmitting channels, and havinga common inlet end for said channels, means reflecting light,transmitted inwardly through the side wall of the bottle to the inletend of said optical fiber bundle, and respective means having incidentthereupon the light from the separate outlet ends of said optical fiberbundle and operable to convert the light transmitted along said separatelight transmitting channels into respective electrical signals forindicating changes in the quantities of light received by said separatelight transmitting channels due to the presence of foreign matter on thesurfaces of the bottle.

2. Apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, wherein said housing comprises alongitudinally extending tubular barrel, an adapter section mounted onone end of said tubular barrel and arranged to hold the outlet ends ofsaid optical fiber bundle, and a sleeve fitted to the opposite end ofsaid tubular barrel and extending outwardly beyond the inlet end of saidoptical fiber bundle.

3. Apparatus, as set forth in claim 2, including an objective lensmounted within said sleeve for focusing light on the inlet end of saidoptical fiber bundle.

4. Apparatus, as set forth in claim 3, wherein said means for reflectingincident light comprises a reflecting mirror mounted below and at anangle to the normal to said objective lens, and said sleeve having anopening therein for admitting light to said reflecting mirror wherebythe light is conveyed through said objective lens to the inlet end ofsaid optical fiber bundle.

5. Apparatus, as set forth in claim 2, wherein said adapter sectioncomprises a plurality of laterally spaced terminals each arranged tohold a separate outlet end of said optical fiber bundle.

6. Apparatus, as set forth in claim 5, including a transparent glassplate supported on said adapter section and extending transverselyacross said separate outlet ends of said optical fiber bundle positionedwithin said terminals, and a plurality of photoelectric transducerelements mounted on the opposite side of said glass plate from saidoutlet ends, each of said transducer elements located in opposedrelationship to one of said outlet ends of said optical fiber bundledisposed on the opposite side of said glass plate.

7. Apparatus, as set forth in claim 6, including a second adaptersection mounted on the upper surface of said adapter section, and aninsulating body disposed within said second adapter section, saidtransducer elements being disposed in spaced relationship within andspaced apart by said insulating body.

8. Apparatus, as set forth in claim 7, wherein an insulated lead wire isconnected to each of said transducers and extends through said secondadapter section and is insulated therefrom.

9. Apparatus, as set forth in claim 6, wherein each of said transducersis connected in serial arrangement to an amplifier, an integrator, and awave form shaping circuit with each of said wave form shaping circuitsbeing connected to a common logical OR circuit, a logical AND circuitconnected to said logical OR circuit, and a memory circuit connected tosaid logical AND circuit.

10. An apparatus, as set forth in claim 9, including a trigger circuit,for defining inspecting positions on a bottle being inspected, connectedto said logical AND circuit.

11. Apparatus, as set forth in claim 10, comprising a D.C. amplifierarranged to receive a part of the output from one of said photoelectrictransducer elements, said D.C. amplifier being connected to said logicalOR circuit for supplying the partial outlet from said transducer elementthereto.

12. Apparatus, as set forth in claim 11, wherein a reset pulse generatoris connected to said memory circuit for resetting the memory circuit.

1. Apparatus for inspecting a bottle for detecting foreign matterdeposited on its surfaces comprising, in combination, a longitudinallyextending housing arranged to be inserted into a bottle to be inspected,a longitudinally extending optical fiber bundle disposed within saidhousing and having a plurality of separate laterally spaced outlet ends,whereby said optical fiber bundle defines a corresponding plurality ofoptically separate light transmitting channels, and having a commoninlet end for said channels, means reflecting light, transmittedinwardly through the side wall of the bottle to the inlet end of saidoptical fiber bundle, and respective means having incident thereupon thelight from the separate outlet ends of said optical fiber bundle andoperable to convert the light transmitted along said separate lighttransmitting channels into respective electrical signals for indicatingchanges in the quantities of light received by said separate lighttransmitting channels due to the presence of foreign matter on thesurfaces of the bottle.
 2. Apparatus, as set forth in claim 1, whereinsaid housing comprises a longitudinally extending tubular barrel, anadapter section mounted on one end of said tubular barrel and arrangedto hold the outlet ends of said optical fiber bundle, and a sleevefitted to the opposite end of said tubular barrel and extendingoutwardly beyond the inlet end of said optical fiber bundle. 3.Apparatus, as set forth in claim 2, including an objective lens mountedwithin said sleeve for focusing light on the inlet end of said opticalfiber bundle.
 4. Apparatus, as set forth in claim 3, wherein said meansfor reflecting incident light comprises a reflecting mirror mountedbelow and at an angle to the normal to said objective lens, and saidsleeve having an opening therein for admitting light to said reflectingmirror whereby the light is conveyed through said objective lens to theinlet end of said optical fiber bundle.
 5. Apparatus, as set forth inclaim 2, wherein said adapter section comprises a plurality of laterallyspaced terminals each arranged to hold a separate outlet end of saidoptical fiber bundle.
 6. Apparatus, as set forth in claim 5, including atransparent glass plate supported on said adapter section and extendingtransversely across said separate outlet ends of said optical fiberbundle positioned within said terminals, and a plurality ofphotoelectric transducer elements mounted on the opposite side of saidglass plate from said outlet ends, each of said transducer elementslocated in opposed relationship to one of said outlet ends of saidoptical fiber bundle disposed on the opposite side of said glass plate.7. Apparatus, as set forth in claim 6, including a second adaptersection mounted on the upper surface of said adapter section, and aninsulating body Disposed within said second adapter section, saidtransducer elements being disposed in spaced relationship within andspaced apart by said insulating body.
 8. Apparatus, as set forth inclaim 7, wherein an insulated lead wire is connected to each of saidtransducers and extends through said second adapter section and isinsulated therefrom.
 9. Apparatus, as set forth in claim 6, wherein eachof said transducers is connected in serial arrangement to an amplifier,an integrator, and a wave form shaping circuit with each of said waveform shaping circuits being connected to a common logical OR circuit, alogical AND circuit connected to said logical OR circuit, and a memorycircuit connected to said logical AND circuit.
 10. An apparatus, as setforth in claim 9, including a trigger circuit, for defining inspectingpositions on a bottle being inspected, connected to said logical ANDcircuit.
 11. Apparatus, as set forth in claim 10, comprising a D.C.amplifier arranged to receive a part of the output from one of saidphotoelectric transducer elements, said D.C. amplifier being connectedto said logical OR circuit for supplying the partial outlet from saidtransducer element thereto.
 12. Apparatus, as set forth in claim 11,wherein a reset pulse generator is connected to said memory circuit forresetting the memory circuit.